


A False Sense of Insecurity

by SilenceIsGolden15



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo 2k19 [18]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Crying, Crying Keith (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Hugs, Keith (Voltron) Has Abandonment Issues, Missions Gone Wrong, Prompt: Lured Into A Trap, Reminiscing, Trapped, Worried Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24559504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilenceIsGolden15/pseuds/SilenceIsGolden15
Summary: “Did you hear that?”Shiro paused, only a few steps further away. He turned to Keith with a confused expression. “Hear what?”“That! That--” The call came again and Keith grimaced. Pins and needles covered his back under his armor, and it wasn’t until the call ended (when did he decide it was someone calling?) that he noticed his clenched fist, water all over his arm and the forest floor. “That-- sound.”“What sound?” Shiro peered at him and started towards him. “I didn’t hear anything.”It echoed through the trees once more, and Keith couldn’t take it anymore. He dropped the empty water pouch and clapped his hands over his ears. His stomach was full of butterflies, his heart racing in his chest, blood rushing in his ears-- he felt like he was in the middle of a battlefield, but he wasn’t. Nothing was happening. So why did he feel so… so…Terrified?
Relationships: Keith & Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo 2k19 [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1554010
Comments: 22
Kudos: 338
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	A False Sense of Insecurity

**Author's Note:**

> Will I jinx myself if I say I'm getting back into my rhythm?

“You know, considering they’re the ones who invited us, you’d think they would’ve given better directions.”

Shiro huffed a quiet, breathless laugh. “Cultural differences?” 

“Ugh. Wish cultural differences didn’t mean hiking through a jungle for hours.”

“You and me both, buddy.”

Keith took another few steps before pausing to take off his helmet. The air in the jungle was thick and muggy, nearly liquid, and sweat was pouring down the back of Keith’s neck, plastering his bangs to his forehead. Removing the helmet helped a little, so he clipped it to his belt before continuing along the path Shiro had cleared. As it turned out, the plasma from his arm was great for clearing the waist high foliage that carpeted the ground between the trees. 

Keith understood that they needed all the allies they could get, including reclusive gecko people who lived in a tree city surrounded by jungle so dense they couldn’t fly in. But that didn’t make this trek any less miserable. 

Without his helmet the sounds of buzzing insects and rustling leaves were much louder. In the distance he could hear more unfamiliar sounds, probably some deadly alien wildlife that would gladly devour their insides given the chance, so Keith kept tabs on the various noises as they carved a path through the jungle, just in case. 

It was half an hour later that he heard it. At first he wasn’t even sure he’d heard anything-- just found himself looking to his left, sweeping his eyes like he was searching for something. All he saw was a yellow… thing, possibly a flower. So he turned his attention back to Shiro and their task. 

Until a minute later, when he heard it again. Just barely. More like a vibration in the air than an actual sound. He slowed his pace and wiped sweat from his forehead. Maybe it was just the heat or the humidity, but a chill had gone through him just then, at the same time as the sound. 

“Keith?”

Keith jolted and tore his eyes away from the trees. Shiro had stopped, noticing that Keith had slowed. 

“You ok? You need a rest?”

Keith shook his head, half in answer and half to clear it. His ears felt hollow, like when pressure makes them pop. “No, no, I’m ok.”

“Alright. Make sure you’re drinking enough water.”

Keith rolled his eyes and said, “Yes, dad,” but still pulled a water pouch from a bag on his belt. Shiro smiled and turned back to the path. Keith shoved the straw into the pouch and took a sip, but before he could take a step the noise came again. 

This time was the loudest; still in the distance, but loud enough for him to actually hear it. It was strange. High pitched, like a dog whistle, but with a rumbling, roiling quality like a purr, or a growl. This time hit him harder, the chills wracking through him like tremors, the hairs on the back of his neck standing straight up. 

“Did you hear that?”

Shiro paused, only a few steps further away. He turned to Keith with a confused expression. “Hear what?”

“That! That--” The call came again and Keith grimaced. Pins and needles covered his back under his armor, and it wasn’t until the call ended (when did he decide it was someone calling?) that he noticed his clenched fist, water all over his arm and the forest floor. “That-- sound.”

“What sound?” Shiro peered at him and started towards him. “I didn’t hear anything.”

It echoed through the trees once more, and Keith couldn’t take it anymore. He dropped the empty water pouch and clapped his hands over his ears. His stomach was full of butterflies, his heart racing in his chest, blood rushing in his ears-- he felt like he was in the middle of a battlefield, but he wasn’t. Nothing was happening. So why did he feel so… so… 

Terrified?

“Keith?”

Again, and now Keith knew what it was. It was a scream. Someone, somewhere in this godforsaken jungle, was screaming. 

His whole body buzzed. Shiro reached out for him, but the moment his fingers brushed Keith’s arm everything snapped. Without consciously deciding to, his body turned to the left. 

Then he was running, going where instinct called for him. 

* * *

“Keith! Keith, where are you going?”

Keith didn’t answer; Shiro was forced to give chase, lest he disappear completely among the trees. 

“Keith! Stop! Keith!”

Damn, he forgot how fast Keith was. It was all he could do to keep him in sight-- he was running at top speed, hell bent for leather, and Shiro didn’t even know why. One second he was fine and the next he was white as a sheet, shouting about some noise Shiro couldn’t hear. And on top of all of that, Shiro could’ve sworn that, just for a split second before he ran, Keith’s eyes changed. 

He didn’t have time to clear a path as he was running. Plants and branches smacked against his shins hard enough to leave bruises, and he nearly fell flat on his face more than once. 

Shiro gulped down another mouthful of muggy air and blinked away sweat as it ran into his eyes. He’d just cleared his vision when the blur of white and red that he’d been following vanished from sight. All at once, like the ground had opened up and swallowed him whole. 

Shiro shouted his name again. Barely a dozen strides later he found out he was almost right-- he saw the gap in the forest floor just in time to screech to a stop. His feet slipped on leaves that flew into the air like confetti as he fell onto his back. 

He landed hard, punching the breath from his lungs. Shiro laid there for a moment to get it back. The sky was an ugly, dull yellow, and the air was soupy as he tried to swallow it. They’d been to a lot of shitty planets, but this one, Shiro now decided, was near the bottom of the list. 

After a few seconds Shiro forced himself up again and scrambled over the edge of the pit. Soil and leaves spilled over and drifted downwards, but it was solid black inside and Shiro couldn’t see where they went, let alone the bottom. His heart was already pounding, but somehow it still managed to speed up even more. 

Keith had to have fallen in. And if he was still confused he might not have thought to use his jetpack. He could have broken bones, or worse--

Leaves rustled behind him, and in an instant worry twisted into paranoia. He got his feet under him and spun to face his attackers. 

At first he didn’t see anything. Then he spotted it, a slight difference in the shades of green around him, and his hand lit up. 

“Hold, Paladin!” One of the camouflaged aliens stepped out of hiding. They were tall, tall enough that Shiro had to look up to meet their lizard-like eyes, and stick thin. That plus their smudged green coloring made them almost invisible among the trees. 

“Hold,” they repeated, and four more shapes emerged, spread out in a semi circle around him. “We mean you no harm. You are the Black Paladin, are you not?”

Shiro’s eyes darted from one alien to the next. He was surrounded, his back to a pit too wide to leap over. So he didn’t deactivate his arm before he spoke. 

“Yes. Are you the ones who contacted Princess Allura?”

The alien nodded solemnly, revealing twin red ridges running over their scalp. “I am Qutayya, the general of our defense forces.”

At that Shiro finally lowered his arm. That was the name Allura had told them to listen for. Then he remembered, and all the adrenaline came rushing back. 

“Listen, something happened, I--” he stopped and took a few deep breaths. He had to keep his head on straight, panicking wouldn’t help Keith-- wherever he was. “I didn’t come alone. I brought the Red Paladin, his name’s Keith. He-- something happened. While we were walking, and--”

Qutayya held up her two-fingered hand again. “We are aware. Do not worry, the Red Paladin is unharmed, and we can take you to him.”

Shiro’s first reaction was relief, but then he balked. What if this was a trap? What if they’d taken Keith purposefully? What if the whole thing had been a ruse from the beginning? 

“I know what you’re thinking,” Qutayya said with a slow blink. “But we have been fighting the Galra for centuries. Voltron’s return was an answered prayer. There would be no benefit in betraying you.”

Shiro’s brain was still ringing alarm bells, but he didn’t really have a choice, did he? Trap or not, he had to find Keith.

“Fine,” he acquiesced, though his stomach still swarmed with butterflies. “Lead the way.” 

With a nod to the other aliens, Qutayya turned and went back into the trees. The others waited until Shiro followed before closing ranks behind him. His heart rate sped up accordingly, but Shiro focused on taking deep breaths and reminded himself why he was doing this. 

_ To find Keith. I have to find Keith.  _

* * *

It was slow going. The natives were able to slip through the tiniest gaps between the plants, only the slightest movement of the leaves betraying their path. But Shiro wasn’t nearly so graceful, and they seemed to have chosen the most overgrown pathway possible. 

Shiro plunged on without complaint. 

At length the general came to a stop. The area they stood in looked completely unassuming, just like every other bit of jungle they’d been walking through, but when she selected a tree and approached it, her step was unerring. The tree was tall and straight, its crown disappearing into the canopy above. Its bark was auburn, like cinnamon. Qutayya pressed her hands to one of the eyes. 

Shiro was unsurprised when a portion of the trunk slid away. What he was surprised by was the interior-- the material inside was silver, and caught the little sunlight that filtered down like metal. 

“Paladin,” said the General, holding out an inviting arm. Shiro’s stomach twisted with anticipation, but he moved despite it and stepped into the tree.

He was expecting a staircase, but once again his expectations were defied. It was actually an elevator, with dim lights above that made his armor light up like black light. Qutayya and one other alien joined him, and without them needing to press any buttons, it began to descend. 

Shiro watched the aliens from the corner of his eyes the whole way down. Under the lights he noticed a sheen over their skin-- like they were wearing armor made of glass. This species was more advanced than meets the eye. 

“Where are we?” Shiro asked after a few seconds of utter silence; he couldn’t even hear the elevators mechanism. 

“This is the central base of the defense,” Qutayya answered without turning her head. “This is where we were intending to meet you. A series of tunnels allows us easy access to the surface in a twenty mile radius.”

Shiro narrowed his eyes. The General’s expressions (or lack thereof) weren’t giving anything away. “I thought your people prefer to live in the trees.”

Her lips twitched, as though amused. “So do the Galra.”

“So what happened to Keith? Did he fall into a tunnel?”

Qutayya spared him a momentary glance. “I believe he encountered one of our traps. We leave them in case the Galra establish operations and attempt to approach on foot.”

“Hm.” That wasn’t exactly reassuring information, but it was also far from the worst situation they’d been in. So Shiro decided to withhold his judgement until he found out what condition Keith was in. 

The elevator came to a stop with nary a jutter. When the door slid open it revealed a circular room, made of the same shiny metal as the elevator, with wide, round tunnels branching off in several directions. Qutayya gestured for Shiro to follow and took the tunnel to the left. 

“This way, Paladin.”

Once again, Shiro did as he was told. A hundred feet from the entrance of the tunnel the walls began to change-- sheets of clear glass revealed small, dark rooms on either side, lit by the same black light. 

_ Cells,  _ Shiro realized, and his paranoia returned with a vengeance. 

“Here.” Qutayya stopped and faced one of the windows. Inside was a shape of glowing white. When he squinted, Shiro could just barely make out the red breaking up the white, and the pale tint of Keith’s skin. He was laying on the floor of the cell, his body curled up around something in the center, and he was deathly still. 

“What happened?” Shiro exclaimed. “Is he hurt? Is he conscious?”

The General didn’t answer. She just leaned closer to the glass and pressed a button on the wall Shiro hadn’t seen. A light flickered on in the cell, a proper light, and Shiro let out a gasp. 

Keith was awake. Well, maybe awake was a generous term. His eyes were open, but they didn’t look right-- the whites had turned yellow, eerily similar to Galra gold, and his pupils were thin, resembling Qutayya’s more than a human’s. 

He was curled in a tight ball around whatever was on the floor, his lips peeled back from his teeth in a feral snarl. But for Shiro, the scariest part was the blank look in his eyes, like he couldn’t see Shiro, merely staring right through him. 

Moving unconsciously, Shiro set his metal hand against the glass. The sound was barely audible to Shiro, but was enough to make Keith jolt on the other side. He tightened his curl around the object, and a soft rumbling sound rolled out of his throat. If Shiro didn’t know better, he would’ve called it a growl. 

“You didn’t tell us the Red Paladin has Galra ancestry,” said Qutayya. Shiro could feel her gaze boring into the side of his head. “If you had, we would’ve made sure to deactivate the traps.”

A chill went down Shiro’s spine. Historically things had gone poorly when Keith’s heritage was involved, despite how concerned the General's second sentence had seemed. 

“What happened to him?” Shiro asked for the third time. “What’s that thing he’s holding?”

“It’s a transmitter. It emits a sound that imitates the way a Galra mother calls for her kit in times of danger.”

Shiro’s heart sank, but Qutayya talked on, none the wiser. 

“Galra are quite instinctive creatures-- younger Galra will be inclined to pursue the sound to protect their mother, and even ones old enough to resist it will be distracted and easy to confuse.”

Swallowing to soothe his dry throat, Shiro asked, “Is it still on?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t you turn it off?” Shiro finally tore his eyes away from Keith, only to find Qutayya frowning at him. 

“That is not advisable. It may lead him to believe that the caller has died.”

Shiro winced. He didn’t need her to explain what would happen then. 

“So what do we do?”

“I would suggest sedation.”

Shiro immediately shook his head. Keith would already be confused and vulnerable, and the last thing Shiro wanted to do was make it worse by knocking him unconscious. 

“Let me try and talk to him first.”

Qutayya’s expression turned skeptical, but Shiro remained unmoved, so eventually she acquiesced. “Very well. I’ll let you in, and if he recognizes you, I’ll have the transmitter deactivated.”

“Thank you. But, wait--”

Qutayya paused, hand halfway to the control panel on the wall, and blinked at him expectantly. 

Shiro felt a bit silly asking about it at a time like this, but he and Keith had come here for a reason, after all. “What about our alliance? Are your people willing to follow through knowing one of the Paladins has Galra blood?”

Qutayya regarded him for a long moment. It must’ve gone on for a minute or more, but she didn’t blink once. Then, finally, “Yes, we are. Halfbreeds are ostracized from the empire-- we have nothing to fear from him.”

Shiro couldn’t help the relieved breath he let out. Qutayya’s lip quirked before she turned resolutely back to the window. 

“Whenever you’re ready, Paladin.”

Shiro took one more moment to gather his wits. Keith wasn’t himself-- he had to operate cautiously, both for his sake and for Keith’s. 

“Ok. I’m ready.”

There was a quiet beep and the glass began to slide aside. As an afterthought, Shiro took his helmet off and clipped it to his belt. 

The cell must’ve been connected to the surface, as the air that blew over his face was heavy with moisture and the scent of rich soil. The moment the glass was gone Keith’s slitted eyes locked onto him, still with no recognition in them. Shiro swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly sank into a crouch. 

“Hey, Keith,” he murmured. Keith immediately let out another growl, so Shiro didn’t move an inch. “Shhh, it’s ok. You know me, Keith. You know me.”

Keith’s chest was rising and falling rapidly, his teeth still bared. But, and this was a big but, his eyes had left off watching Shiro’s entire body for movement and focused on his face. 

“You remember me? I know you’re scared, but you’re safe. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you’re safe. I promise.”

For a few seconds nothing happened. Then Keith pressed his lips together and swallowed, blinking rapidly. Shiro thought he saw Keith’s pupils flickering, like they couldn’t decide which state they wanted to be in. 

“It’s ok. I’m right here. I’m right here, buddy, it’s ok.” Shiro tried shifting forward, but Keith locked right back up again and went back to growling. Sitting back on his haunches, Shiro wracked his brain for something he could use. A certain sunset came to mind, paired with dry air and dust coated metal. 

“Keith, do you remember the day you told me about your dad?” Keith didn’t react right away. Shiro kept going. “I took you out to the hangars to see the old shuttles. You knew every single one by heart, and the missions they ran. Impressed the hell out of me.”

Keith shifted, just a little. Could be nothing. Could be a sign. Shiro chose to believe it was the latter. 

“It was only the third time we’d met. You were about to be admitted to the Garrison with me as your mentor-- but you didn’t know that part yet.”

Maybe he was imagining it, but Keith looked like he was less tense, the rhythm of his breath more relaxed. 

“When I asked that question, the one about you growing up there, I didn’t expect you to give me much of an answer. You’d been so quiet up until then, unless you were talking about the shuttles or my hoverbike. I knew your walls would be high and hard to break. And they were. But in that moment you showed me a little bit of vulnerability, gave me a glimpse of who you were behind all the barriers.”

Keith’s muscles had lost their tension. Rather than being coiled around the transmitter he was now just laying on the floor, blinking languidly at Shiro. He was getting through. 

“And I knew then that you would be worth all the time and effort that mentoring would require. And not for a single moment have I regretted it.”

There was quiet between them. Then Keith swallowed again and whispered ever so quietly, “Shiro?”

The bottom of his stomach dropped out with sheer relief. Keith’s eyes were still wonky, but he was looking at Shiro, really looking at him. When he slid a hand forward a few inches Keith didn’t jolt back, so Shiro took the risk of sitting forward and taking one of his hands, which had finally stopped clutching the small black box Shiro assumed to be the transmitter. 

“Yeah, it’s me. Welcome back.”

Keith merely grimaced in answer. “Shiro… I can’t make it stop.”

“Make what stop?” Shiro squeezed his hand. Keith squeezed back. 

“The--” Keith’s voice cracked and dropped to a whisper. “The screaming.”

Shiro cast an anxious glance back at Qutayya. She nodded and pressed another button. Shiro didn’t hear any change, but Keith gasped and his grip tightened. When Shiro turned back his eyes had thankfully returned to normal-- but they were also filled with tears. 

“Shiro--”

“Come here, bud.” He pulled Keith upright and into an embrace. It was clunky and awkward with the armor, but Shiro didn’t let it get in the way. “It’s ok, I’ve got you. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real, you’re ok.”

Keith’s breath was back to fast, practically hyperventilating, his voice slipping between words and growls as his hands scrambled for a hold on Shiro’s armor. 

“Shiro, she-- she was here, she was here and she-- she was hurting. God, Shiro, she was in so much pain, she was screaming, and I couldn’t help her, I couldn’t make it stop--”

“Shhhhh, it’s ok, Keith, it’s ok. It wasn’t real. No one got hurt, I promise. It wasn’t real.”

Shiro felt it when Keith shook his head, pressed as it was against his shoulder. 

“I know,” he choked out. “I know it wasn’t real, there was no one there, I knew there wasn’t anyone there. But the noises-- it didn’t make any sense--”

“I know, I know. It’s over. It’s over, I promise. Take some deep breaths for me, can you do that? You remember the count?”

He felt Keith nod. He felt his breath change as he tried to inhale to the beat Shiro had taught him over the years. 

“You’re ok. You’re ok.”

Gradually Keith’s breaths began to slow, but as they did the trembling became more apparent. Shiro didn’t blame him for being shaky; Keith had just had one hell of an adrenaline spike. What it did mean, however, was that they probably couldn’t walk all the way back to their shuttle on their own. 

As though having read his mind, Qutayya spoke up. “I can provide a vehicle to return you to your ship.”

Shiro twisted around enough for their eyes to meet without letting go of Keith and smiled. “Thank you, General.”

She bowed her head in return, then shifted her eyes to Keith. “I apologize for the distress, Red Paladin. I assure you it was unintentional.”

Keith mumbled something that sounded vaguely polite, but didn’t pull away from Shiro. 

“Black Paladin, I will personally send a message to the Princess confirming our alliance.” Shiro twisted around again, and this time she was smiling, too. It was shaky and strained, like she was trying to imitate what Shiro had done. Kind of endearing, really. 

Then Shiro turned his full attention back to Keith. He looked more composed, but Shiro knew it was only a front-- Keith hated being vulnerable where he could be seen. So he kept his hold gentle as he helped Keith to his feet. 

“Come on, bud. Time to go home.”

* * *

Shiro told Allura to meet him on the bridge, giving Keith the opportunity to slip back to his room without being spotted by the others, which he appreciated. He probably looked like a wreck-- he certainly felt like one. 

Shiro had told him what happened in the jungle, but for Keith it was all a haze. He remembered running, falling, somewhere dark-- and he remembered being afraid. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like that-- the last time he’d let himself feel like that. 

Slipping into his bunk was a blessing. He was aching, covered in bruises from his sprint through the jungle. He took his armor off as quickly as he could, letting the pieces fall to the floor and stay there, and just barely had the energy to put his normal clothes on and crank the lights to the max. They made his eyes sting, but he didn’t want to be in the dark again. 

Alone, with that screaming.

Keith shook his head hard to dislodge the thought. But the moment it was gone it got replaced by something worse. The empty ache that had become so familiar since his dad’s death. The one that nearly consumed him whole in the desert. 

He wrapped himself up in his blanket and slumped onto the bed. He faced the wall and closed his eyes tight, but it didn’t help. 

It just felt so real.

An indeterminate amount of time later he heard his door swish open. Keith knew who it would be, knowledge confirmed when a weight made his mattress sink and a cool hand brushed the back of his head. 

“You awake?”

Keith rolled over with a heavy sigh. Shiro was looking down at him with his familiar expression of concern, which only made Keith wish he’d pretended to be asleep. 

“Hey,” Shiro said softly, ignoring how Keith’s gaze lingered on the wall behind him rather than his face. “How are you feeling?”

“About as you’d expect.” Keith tried to keep his voice flat and unemotional. He was pretty sure he failed. “I know it wasn’t real.”

“But…” Shiro prodded. 

Keith was too tired to resist. He relented, admitting, “But I still feel…”

Shiro tilted his head with a soft, knowing smile. “But you still feel abandoned.”

At that word Keith immediately rolled over again. There was no way he could talk about this, not in a million years, not to anyone. Because, really, he’d fallen into a fucking hole in the ground because some weird noises made him think his estranged alien mother was nearby and dying. 

Even after all of the weird shit they’d done as Voltron, there had to be a line somewhere. There had to be. 

Right?

Shiro didn’t need to say anything else. He knew what was going on in Keith’s head, he always did. He just sat, letting his presence speak for him, as well as the gentle hand Keith allowed him to run through his hair. 

“You know what I just realized?” he asked after a brief silence.

“What?” Keith grumbled. 

“They had vehicles we could use… but they still made us walk all the way there.”

There was a beat, a pause, and then the two of them burst out laughing. 

**Author's Note:**

> I assure you I know that this situation doesn't make a lot of biological sense. But it's fanfiction for a show about magic psychic space ships in the shape of lions. I make the rules here.


End file.
